Kasautii Zindagii Kay actress Pooja Banerjee on her intimate scenes: I asked Sandeep if the family will have any issues

Pooja Banerjee, who is popularly known as Anurag’s sister Nivedita in Kasautii Zindagii Kay, was apprehensive initially to take the role. But now, she is enjoying all the adulation and love. In an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com, Pooja Banerjee reveals that she had got special gifts for her co-stars and BFFs Hina, Erica and Shubhaavi from her Lucknow trip. The actress has big plans with hubby and national swimmer Sandeep Sejwal for Indian swimmers. In a candid conversation with the actress, Pooja speaks about getting intimate on-screen, maintaining work-life balance and much more. By: Sukarna Mondal

It’d been a long time since I gifted anyone a token of love. When I went to Lucknow, I thought of getting something special from the place. We all like simple and trendy stuff. So I bought four similar white Lucknow ‘chikan’ work kurtis for Hina, Shubhaavi, Erica and myself. I kept the gifts in their respective rooms with three different notes. I wished Shubhaavi with a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’ note, I wrote ‘Ramadan Kareem’ on Hina's gift and I wished Erica with a birthday note. Once Hina is back from Cannes, we have decided to wear the kurtas one day and head out. None of them were expecting it and they were very happy.

It's difficult to balance. The kind of professions we have chosen for ourselves, it wouldn’t have been a cakewalk had we married someone else. Sandeep, my husband, wakes up at around 5am and comes back at 10am and he continues with his schedule. And I wake up at around 6 and I am on set by 8.30 am. Most of the days, by the time I am home, Sandeep is fast asleep. But, he knows his schedule and hence I try to sort out my dates accordingly. That’s how we have tried to maintain the balance. We are just a phone call away.

We try to go out for dinners on days I pack up early. It’s difficult when you are in the field of acting but it’s not impossible. I feel it would be same had you been in any other field. There are also perks. It’s not like I am slogging every day. Sometimes if I have fewer scenes, instead of 12 hours, I get to wrap up in 4 hours.

I have to talk about the emotional connect we have. Sandeep and I have known each other since childhood. I met him before being an actress. He has seen me grow as a person. I can rely on him and be myself. It’s an added advantage. We make sure to visit each other’s hometown to Delhi and Nagpur.

He laughs at them. He asked me, ‘Do you really have to do this?’ In one of the projects where Parth and I had a liplock, we discussed the scene. I asked Sandeep will the family have any issues. He said, ‘I am your family and I don’t have any issue.’ So, I am blessed to have him as my partner. For him to be so supportive and being mature, it means a lot. Anybody else in his shoes would be hurt. I know, it’s not easy to pull of such scenes and those words coming out of him gave me the confidence that I can do it.

Sandeep and I have ventured into swimming coaching. We want to take it ahead and make it big. Once we have a plan, we can talk more. We have good plans for Indian swimming.

I was the one to tag them in those doll pictures. Hina, Erica and I had a hearty laugh. People were also commenting that dolls should be made in our swimming costume pics. Having a doll on us, it’s a huge compliment and we are happy to receive all the love. It’s amazing how fans notice every tiny detail, from jewellery to nose pins to saris… we are grateful that the efforts we are putting in, is getting noticed. I wore a sari gifted to me by my fan on the show.

No, not right now. But never say never. At this moment, I won’t play a mother’s role. Honestly, I never saw myself playing the role of Nivedita. But Ekta ma’am convinced me. When I was offered the role, I was wondering how will I play the role of Nivedita Basu. I am a regular t-shirt wearing girl. And Nivedita Basu’s role was this decked up married lady, who has an authoritative tone. I have done teenage roles earlier. How will I look bossy on-screen? I had all these thoughts in my mind. The makers had someone else for the role and I just came by chance. They had to change the entire look of Nivedita after they saw me.